Christianity and America

Great Quotes from Our Founding Fathers and Others
On the Role Religion in General and Christianity in Particular
Have Played in the Formation of This Nation

Declaration of Independence, 1776: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness: that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835: “Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must nevertheless be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free institutions … Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.”

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Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1749: “I desire to bless and praise the name of God most high for appointing me my birth in a land of Gospel Light where the glorious tidings of a Savior and of pardon and salvation through Him have been continually sounding in mine ears.”

Patrick Henry: “It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.”

Samuel Adams, 1775: “If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the common-wealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation. … Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness.””

Abraham Clark,signer of the Declaration of Independence: “Our fates are in the hands of An Almighty God, to whom I can with pleasure confide my own; He can save us, or destroy us; His Councils are fixed and cannot be disappointed, and all His designs will be accomplished.”

Charles Carroll,signer of the Declaration of Independence: “Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”

Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775: “There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, and active, the brave.”

Gouverneur Morris, signer of the Constitution: “There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish… [T]he most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.”

Thomas Jefferson, 1781: “… can the LIBERTIES of the nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a CONVICTION in the minds of the people that these liberties are the GIFT OF GOD? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?”

John Hancock, 1783: “The interposition of Divine Providence in our Favour hath been most abundantly and most graciously manifested, and the Citizens of these United States have every Reason for Praise and Gratitude to the God of their Salvation.”

Benjamin Franklin, 1787: “… God GOVERNS in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice is it probable that an EMPIRE can rise without His AID?”

Benjamin Franklin, 1787: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”

Elias Boudinot, delegate to the Continental Congress: “We can only depend on the all powerful influence of the Spirit of God, Whose Divine aid and assistance it becomes us as a Christian people most devoutly to implore. Therefore, I move that some minister of the Gospel be requested to attend this Congress every morning … in order to open the meeting with prayer.”

Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence: “I have been alternately called an aristocrat and a democrat. I am now neither. I am a Christocrat. I believe all power … will always fail of producing order and happiness in the hands of man. He alone Who created and redeemed man is qualified to govern him.”

President George Washington, October 3, 1789: “It is the DUTY of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to OBEY His will, to be GRATEFUL for His benefits, and humbly to IMPLORE His protection and favor.”

George Washington, in his final address to Congress, 1796: “The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest purposes. … [W]here is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths …? Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness – these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”

John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, February 28, 1797: “… except the BIBLE there is not a TRUE HISTORY in the world.”

John Jay: “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

President John Adams: “It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation’s humble acknowledged dependence upon God and his overruling Providence.”

John Adams, October 11, 1798: “Our CONSTITUTION was made only for a MORAL and RELIGIOUS people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Matthias Burnett, pastor of First Baptist Church of Norwalk, 1803: “Consider well the important trust … which God … [has] put into your hands …. Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you. … [L]ook well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. … Think not that men who acknowledge not the providence of God nor regard His laws will be uncorrupt in office.”

President Thomas Jefferson: “Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Thomas Jefferson: “If we wish to make democracy permanent in this country let us abide by the fundamental principles laid down in the Constitution. Let us see that the state is the servant of its people and that the people are not the servants of the state.”

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Samuel Miller, 1808: “I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.”

President James Monroe, 1818: “The principle capacity of a free government is derived from the sound morals and intelligence of the people; and the more extensive the means of education, the more confidently may we rely on the preservation of our public liberties.”

President James Madison, November 20, 1825: “The BELIEF in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so ESSENTIAL to the moral order of the World and to the HAPPINESS of man, that arguments which ENFORCE it cannot be drawn from too many sources ….”

James Madison: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions … upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

President Abraham Lincoln: “INTOXICATED with unbroken success, we have become too SELF-SUFFICIENT to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too PROUD to pray to the God that made us! – March 30, 1863

Abraham Lincoln: “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.”

President James A Garfield (an ordained minister of the Gospel) foresaw well over a century ago where we are today: “Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If that body be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. If the next centennial does not find us a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954: “The purpose of a devout and united people was set forth in the pages of The Bible … (1) to live in freedom, (2) to work in a prosperous land, … and (3) to obey the commandments of God …. This Biblical story of the Promised Land inspired the founders of America. It continues to inspire us.”

President Ronald Reagan: “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.”

Ronald Reagan: “We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. … Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what is was once like in the United States where men were free.”